Facing Covid-19 with creativity and resilience

9 April 2020

Most of us around the world are in at least our fourth week of social distancing, so hopefully the majority of us are managing to get into a new rhythm by now. In recent weeks, many of our partners have reached out to share how they are demonstrating their resilience and innovation in the face of these unprecedented circumstances. This week, we focus on our Learning Difference Programme partners who are quickly shifting to support students to learn remotely. They have been doing an impressive job of facing trying circumstances with creativity and resilience – read on to find out!

An alliance of national education organisations – including
many Oak grantees – has come together to ensure equity for all
learners. The EducatingAllLearners.org
provides a hub of curated tools, strategies, tips, and best
practices to support students with disabilities online. The
coalition curates and creates special education resources for
educators to serve students who learn differently during this time of
challenge.

The Washington, DC-based National Center for Learning Disabilitieshas been actively informing deliberation of the Covid-19 Stimulus Bill in the US Congress. Its focus has been on protecting the legal rights of students with learning disabilities. It is providing updates on the latest developments and explanations of guidance and regulation from the US Congress, Department of Education and other federal agencies related to the Covid-19 response. It has also created two new resources that outline best practices for serving students with disabilities in these new environments, tailored specifically for parents and educators.

The National Center for Special Education in Charter
Schoolshas
created a resource
guide to assist educators and
school practitioners to develop comprehensive plans for students with
disabilities. It aims to create effective and high-quality learning
environments for all during this evolving national transition. It has also
curated guidance and links to official regulations regarding
educational services for students with disabilities, when schools cannot
operate in traditional ways. Some 400 participants – including educators,
district leaders and policymakers – joined a recent webinar focused on how best
to support students with learning disabilities.

Education Week, an award-winning independent news
organisation that provides news and analysis on education, has all of its journalists covering the
many facets of the Covid-19 crisis. Its work includes: original news stories; a national survey of district and
school leaders; opinion essays from thought leaders and practitioners; videos
and downloadable resources; and virtual events and social media. Check it out
for yourself here!

TheHill Learning Center, based in Durham, North Carolina in
the US, is a learning hub for instruction for students
with learning and attention challenges.
In the face of Covid-19 restrictions, it quickly shifted to distance learning
for the first time in its history by launching remote tutoring. It has also
developed and shared guidance for delivering its unique HILLRAP methodology and
supporting students remotely with partners and HILLRAP teachers

Lesley
Institute for Trauma Sensitivity, based in Massachusetts in the US,seeks to support educators in developing safe, supportive, trauma
sensitive learning environments. During the Covid-19 pandemic, it has been
reaching out to teachers, who have an
important role in times of student, school and community challenges. Lesley
shares information to help educators practice self-care and
remain resilient.

In response to a volume of requests for
advice about tools, content, and guidance for teachers and parents, NewSchools
Venture Fundcurated
a list of free distance learning resources that are relatively easy for parents,
students and educators to use from home. NewSchools Venture Fund invests
in organisations that work to improve public education. Its list has already been widely shared as people
find ways to keep students learning.

Transcend Education supports
school leaders in developing, iterating, and scaling innovative learning
models. It has created three resources
for: schools trying to do distance learning; organisations trying to do virtual
work; and families new to homeschooling. These resources are: a blog post with key lessons from learning science for families who have had to
learn how to be educators overnight; a prototype “Pop-Up Homeschool Schedule Generator” for families and educators; and a carefully-curated,
regularly-updated resource hub that
pulls together the most useful practices and tools for remote learning and
remote work.

Yale Center
for Emotional Intelligenceis
providing insight into how evidence-based social emotional learning practices can support
our ability to think clearly, make healthy decisions and behave productively
during times of high stress and anxiety.

And
finally,Teach for Americahas mobilised its network of current
teachers, leaders and nearly 1,700 alumni to share ideas and exchange
resources. It is also deploying resources to aid educators in supporting new
forms of virtual student learning as it has become clear that it will have to
fundamentally reinvent its approach to training teachers this summer in a
matter of weeks.

Oak’s
Learning Differences Programme believes that a better future and a good
education are linked and that educated citizens contribute to healthier and
more vibrant communities. Appreciating the value of education, our fundamental
sense of justice demands that every child has the chance to develop skills and
knowledge to realise his or her potential. We aim to promote, support and build
systems that unlock the potential of all students, particularly those with
learning differences and face additional adversity in school due to race,
income, language, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender or religion. Read more
about our strategy here.

Share this:

Our mission

Oak Foundation commits its resources to address issues of global, social and environmental concern, particularly those that have a major impact on the lives of the disadvantaged. With offices in Europe, India and North America, we make grants to organisations in approximately 40 countries worldwide.